Carinthia

Carinthia is a historical province of Slovenia - until the end of World War I it formed the Duchy of Carinthia together with its other half, which now belongs to the Republic of Austria. Today there is a bit of confusion when one talks about the Slovenian region, because one may be referring to the historic region or, possibly, to the Statistical Region of today. Both are not exactly identical in terms of the territory they cover. Carinthia is a major factor of the Slovenian economy despite its relatively small size. In order to distinguish it from its Austrian counterpart, the region is often called Slovene Carinthia.

In any case, what both Carinthias have in common are beautiful alpine landscapes.

Carinthia is perfect for all kinds of winter sports, but the Slovenian part is still more price attractive. It also has the greater potential for future development. Carinthia belongs to the Euregio Graz-Maribor, established by the European Union as one of those cross-border international regions which, despite politically belonging to different countries, have so many economic, cultural, and historic ties that in some respects the EU treats them as a unit in order to benefit them in several ways, including economic projects. Indeed, Slovene Carinthia is very close to Austria on a cultural - and on a linguistic level. Most of its inhabitants still speak German, though now English is also very common.

The region's capital and largest town is Ravne na Koroškem, located right on the border to Austria. The population is only 30 thousand, but nevertheless the history of its steel industry goes 400 years back. At the moment it, and the whole of Slovene Carinthia for that matter, benefit greatly from their location. Being so close to Austria and having such wonderful landscapes, the place is perfect for a combination of trade and tourism.